November 12, 2011: 1st Bakersfield Ultra Marathon Madness (BUMM) 32-Mile Trail Run
(Note: Photo By Lissa Fudge)
Category: Running
WC 200: 2nd Attempt (2nd Day)
September 22, 2011: From Botolan to Santa Cruz, Zambales
After 4.5 hours of sleep at the Circles Inn in Botolan, Zambales, I had my shower and ready for the second day of my run. My team and I went to the commercial center of Iba, Zambales and chose Mang Inasal for our brunch.
One for the customers talked to me (seeing my ARC Los Angeles shirt) and she is apparently a United States’ resident who was born in Iba, Zambales and is the owner of one of the Beach Resorts which is situated at least 2-3 kilometers north of the Poblacion. After our brunch, we went back to the place where I stopped at the vicinity of Poblacion Botolan, Zambales. After some preparation for my hydration and food, I finally started my run at 11:00 AM and the weather was cloudy with a 100% chance of rains later in the day.
After covering a distance of 6 kilometers, I was already at the center of Iba, Zambales, the capital town of the province. There was a portion where there is one way street for vehicles going to the north as well as those going to the opposite direction. I took the road where vehicles going to the North would usually take. It was uneventful as I was able to cover another 3-4 kilometers away from the town.
I really didn’t know what hit me as it started to rain/drizzle and started to feel weak. I took a rest in one of the waiting sheds along the road and asked my crew to serve me some solid foods and Ensure Drinks. However, after drinking the Ensure Drinks, I felt sleepy and just laid down on my back.
I woke up after 1 ½ hours and started to eat some solid foods. Even it was noisy due to the sounds of the passing tricycles, I was able to have the much-desired rest. I immediately prepared myself to continue my run. I was aware that from this place I will have to encounter some hilly portions along the route.
The plan for the day was to cover as much as many kilometers for the day until the night and the following morning.
It was already at 5:00 PM when I was approaching the next town, Palauig, most especially near the Headquarters of the 24th
Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army. Having arranged beforehand about my run through their Area of Responsibility, I knew that the Battalion Commander will provide me with security personnel in civilian attire along the route. This part of the route was mountainous and for security reasons, there is a need to be cautious about the place.
After passing the highest peak in the said town, I had another “pit stop” before running through the night. I had to choose to stop infront of the Iglesia Ni Kristo churches along the way because it is well-lighted and the personnel/guards on their gates were very accommodating. We plugged on their electric outlets for the needed heating of our water in our electric thermos. The INK Church and its people in Palauig, Zambales were great!
At first, there were two motorcycle-riding intelligence personnel of the Philippine Army who gave me the security along the way through the night who would alternately switched from one position to another—one is pre-positioned at least one kilometer ahead and one is at least on my back at a seeing distance. These guys pretended to be like locals and they tried to be discrete on their locations and actions. It was fine with me as long as I have somebody to secure my movement during the night.
At midnight, these two personnel were changed with two personnel with a single motorcycle and they did what they were tasked. After an hour of running, I asked them to join me in my “pit stop” and shared my food (coffee and sandwich) to them. Conversations with them on my “pit stops” gave me more information about the place and its people.
The mountains and hills of Palauig and Masinloc of Zambales were not noticed as I was running in the dark but I had to “power walk” on those inclines and jog/run on the descending portions of the route. These places are a “must” for cyclists to train and see the beauty of the province. The town of Candelaria was uneventful as the route started to level off until I reached the town of Santa Cruz, Zambales.
At 5:30 AM on the following day, I reached the Poblacion of Santa Cruz, Zambales, the last town of the province and decided to have a rest/break. I was able to run a distance of 66+ kilometers on my second day. For the two days that I’ve been running, I was able to cover a distance of 141 kilometers.
Not being able to look for a decent place to stay within the town, I had to drive all the way to Alaminos, Pangasinan, 60 kilometers away, for the much-needed rest.
To be continued.
Finish Time Formula For 100K Run
Last April of this year, I was able to read an article in one of the ultrarunning resources in the Internet. I am sorry for not being able to write the particular source of this item.
This is the formula for one’s expected Finish Time in a 100-K road or trail race. I am not sure of the accuracy of this formula but I’ve tried to use this formula after I’ve finished the 1st edition of the Bataan Death March 102 Ultramarathon Race and it seemed to be accurate.
As a reference, there is no harm if you can use this formula in your training/preparation for the BDM 102 or in any running event that covers the said distance. Try it.
100-Km Race Time Finish (in Minutes) = 1,085.6 – 36.26 X (training speed in km/hour) – 1.43 X (weeekly training volume in km/week) + 2.50 X (age in years)
To give an example of this formula, let us assume some data. If your training speed is 6 kilometers per hour, multiply it by 36.26 and the result is 217.56. If your weekly training volume is 70 kilometers per week, multiply it by 1.43 and the result is 100.1. If your age is 60 years old, multiply it by 2.50 and the result is 150. You subtract 217.56 & 100.1 from 1,085.6 and from the result, you have to add 150. The result is 917.94 in minutes. Round it off to 918 and divide it by 60 and the result is 15.3 hours which is translated to 15 hours & 18 minutes.
I hope this simple formula will guide you in your training for your future races in the 100K and beyond distances.
Good luck!
The Running Sartorialist
This is not a joke but it is nice to start something new. Starting on my fifth year, I will be featuring pictures of me in my running attire and who knows other runners will be featured in this blog in their favorite “running kits”, too!
Running Cap by ASICS
Sunglass by Oakley (Asian Fit)
White T-shirt From A Runner’s Circle (Los Angeles)
ADIDAS Soccer Shorts (without panty-liner, no pockets and very light!)
Running Socks by Drymax
Shoes: ASICS Gel-LyteRacer (Japan)
Watches: TIMEX With HR Monitor & Garmin Forerunner 305
You have to excuse me for being an amateur in my picture as this was taken from the self-timer of my old Canon IXUS Digital Camera with the backyard of our house in Los Angeles. I hope things will improve on the quality of the pictures to be published in the future posts.
Yes, this is a copycat of the popular “The Sartorialist” which is now considered as a multi-million dollar worth fashion blog in the Internet. I am not saying that this blog will be after the concept of showing pictures of runners with the ultimate purpose of raising some money. But who knows? This could be another option where one can raise funds to support our elite runners for international exposure. There is only one way to find out but to start and take the first step, so to speak!
Next time, the published pictures will just be pictures without any description. And there will be NO make-up or “photoshop” refinement of each picture. The more you are messed up with your sweat, the better!
If you can not make it with speed, finish your race and flaunt your nice running apparel!
Who will be the next model? You can make a comment in this post if you are interested.
Good luck to those who will be joining the 2012 New York City Marathon this Sunday! Run Happy!
Going On My Fifth (5th) Year
I started this blog on October 25, 2007 by publishing four (4) posts in one day! These were stories I could think of while I was a Commander in one of the Philippine Army Divisions in the Western Visayas and had initially inspired me to resume my running on a regular basis.
It was a time when there was a running event within one or two month’s time in the whole country!
It was the time when The Bull Runner was the only local regular running blog in the country. And she was ahead by 5 months! Why not a blog coming from an old, average and competitive male runner who could hardly remember his past marathon race accomplishments? Slowly but surely, Bald Runner started to be known.
And everything now is history.
So, what will you expect in the years to come?
This blog will remain to be simple as it started in the beginning. Everything is purely on running. It will continuously inspire others to start to engage themselves in any kind of endurance or physical activity that will improve their health and well-being. It will promote adhering to healthy lifestyle for everybody. It would never dare to touch on political, social, and economic matters as this is the expertise of others out there who have job descriptions to implement as part of the mission of their respective organization.
Sharing one’s running workouts and training. In my early years of blogging and up to this time, I’ve shared to my readers my training and other information I’ve discovered from other sources. I’ve experimented on them and made my own conclusion on each of these, from training, form, nutrition, hydration and apparel. Since I have the time to browse on the Internet, I might as well share my “discoveries” to everybody. However, in the end, Dr. George Sheehan’s words that “running is an experiment of one” still holds true!
My personal opinion on observations on running will always be part of this blog but I will limit them to road and trail races that I participate. This will serve as my personal reference if ever I would join again in their future editions.
Reviews on running apparel and shoes will always be a part of this blog and I had been lagging behind on this aspect. In a sense, I believe that there is truth on what they say as “Sports Fashion” in Running. If you can’t make it in speed, do it in your fashion statement!
More ultra marathon and adventure runs. Yes, there will be more to come to challenge myself and for everybody, whether in roads and trails. Sufferings and pains are the things that ultra runners would love to experience and keep them from looking for more. Just ask your average ultra runner how it feels to finish one, he or she will tell you that will be their last one but after a week, he/she will be looking for the schedule of the next ultra event. Amazing people! Not only that, it is becoming apparent that joining an ultra will be cheaper than joining a marathon race!
Transparency? It is a standard practice for a runner-blogger to post a picture (in action) in his story if he/she relates his/her story and experience in finishing a race. It is a must! So that you are sending the message that you are a credible runner. Nothing more, nothing less. I really don’t mind the finish time, just show us that you are running.
Lately, there had been media releases about runners who are doing adventure runs throughout the country (Philippines) and other parts of the world and they are very commendable in terms of their respective advocacy they are promoting. Very nice indeed but I need to see their daily stories and I could not wait for their books or journals to be published months or years after they finished their respective feats. Is it hard for them to blog their daily runs? It still boggles my mind as these runners are good writers and professionals, too! In short, if I can do it in my local adventure runs, they can do it, too!
Keep on sending elite athletes to international ultra races in the years to come will be one of the major tasks and primary advocacy of this blog. Surprisingly, I have received only two of my readers in this blog who e-mailed me to support such endeavor. And in my Facebook status about my post on “Good Samaritan”, my ultra friends who are based abroad were the ones who responded to my call. Thanks for your support. I know that majority of those who kept their silence on my post will be willing to give their share once I will send them my “letter of request” and I might as well thank them for their support in advance.
Simplicity, Transparency, Sharing, Persistence, Credibility, Compassion, and Challenge are the words to live by in this blog.
Thanks for your visits and comments!
Sleeping On Post
In the military, if you are caught “sleeping on post” during a guard duty, you will face a “military court martial” and if you are found guilty, it means the end of your military career.
Well, this is how an ultrarunner looks like when he is “sleeping on post” during an adventure run…and during those times when he misses his regular posts in this blog (joke!). The picture below says it all!
To be continued…
WC 200: 2nd Attempt (1st Day)
9:30 AM September 21, 2011 to 4:00 AM September 22, 2011
One week after I was bitten by an astray dog in San Narciso, Zambales during my first attempt on this adventure run, I was back where I started at the Remy Field’s Oval Track inside the Subic Freeport. I started the run at 9:30 AM which is 30 minutes earlier than the targetted 10:00 AM start time. As I was about to enter the Oval Track, I met some triathletes, Melvin Fausto and two others on their bikes who just had their running workout at the Oval Track. I told them about my event to start a run from the Oval Track all the way to Pangasinan. These guys wished me good luck and shaked my hand before I finally started the run.
After a brief photo-ops and one lap around the oval track, I was on my way for my second attempt to finish what I’ve started. Initially the sky was clear from clouds but I could feel a colder wind coming from the sea. I walked the first 2 kilometers until I reached the Kalaklan Gate & Bridge and turned left as I entered the Olongapo-Bugallon Highway. You would notice in my picture that I was wearing the red ARC (Los Angeles) shirt and red Zhensa calf sleeves. I thought this color would mean “luck” for me on this attempt. It was also my attempt to run with my Hoka One One Bondi B (courtesy of Joe Matias of ARC) and find out its comfortability in road runs. I’ll make a separate shoe review on this pair of shoes later in my future posts.
I was already confident and familiar with the terrain from the Olongapo City Public Cemetery all the way to San Narciso, Zambales. I became faster this time as I limited my “pit stops” and shortened my time to rest and eat solid foods. I never attempted to update my blog or opened my laptop as I wanted to cover much more distance this time.
It started to rain after I left the town of Subic and as I was approaching the town of Castillejos, Zambales. I had to bring out my The North Face “Venture” Waterproof Jacket and used it to protect my body from the cold feeling brought about by a damp shirt on my body. I’ve observed that even if my shirt was wet from my own perspiration, I could still feel a comfortable temperature that is being maintained on my body using the TNF Waterproof Jacket. The body heat that is trapped by the jacket balances the cold feeling that is brought by the damp shirt to my body. The jacket gave me the much-needed comfort during the downpour of rain.
I never had a decent lunch this time as I ate some solid foods and tried to ingest some GU Gels in between my “pit stops”. In this manner, I was able to cover farther distance from my first attempt. As scheduled, I had again my decent dinner in the very same place where I had dinner in San Narciso, Zambales. This time, my crew and I stayed longer in the said “carinderia” and we had to engage them with some conversation. They were surprised to see us again for the second time and we told them about the dog bite incident. We later found out that the owner of the establishment is a retired Philippine Marines. Ultimately, they knew our purpose why we were there. However, we paid for our bill.
A short conversion with the owner of the carinderia spread like a wildfire that every people along the route in the Poblacion of San Narciso knew that I was on my way to Iba, Zambales which is still 43 kilometers away by running through the night. I could hear the conversations among the people along the road and among the tricycle drivers waiting for passengers from arriving buses and pointing at me that I was running towards the capital town of the province. At this point, I was already on my 8th hour of running for the day.
I brought out my headlight and my Surefire Flashlight and became wiser now from not using my Ipod during night run and for that matter, on this whole second attempt of this run! The highway was dark and I could only see some lights on the road in the center of each municipality. The road was silent and my support vehicle and crew were on my back “shadowing” me. There was no vehicle around except for the Victory Liner Buses that travel along the said Highway. I would observe that it’s the only Bus Transport Line that caters to the said route. I was already running on the right side of the road with my support vehicle on my back giving me more illumination on the road ahead of me.
My headlight served as my early warning light from incoming vehicles while my Surefire flashlight served as my weapon for barking dogs along the road, I have observed that the powerful illumunation from this special type of handheld flashlight is so strong that dogs would stop barking. I believe that this kind of flashlight is used among the police and military security forces to stun their targets through their stong and powerful illumination. So, for the whole stretch of the road, I was protected by this flashlight. However, from time to time, one of my escorts would come out from my support vehicle with a baseball bat just to be ready to use it if there is any brave dog who would attack me while I was running. Yes, I was well-armed and protected this time!
The next town was San Felipe after San Narciso, It was uneventful until I reached the Poblacion of Cabangan, Zambales. As I was about to take my “pit stop”, I was approached by one of the residents riding on his bike and a conversation started. I forgot to ask his name but I’ll just call him as “Cabangan Biker” (CB). Some portions of our conversation went this way: (Our converation was in Tagalog but I’ll have to translate it to English in this post)
Cabangan Biker (CB): It seems you are running through the night. Where did you start and where is your destination?
Bald Runner (BR): Yes, I’ve been running since 10:00 AM today and I started in Subic Base. I hope to reach Iba, Zambales before the day breaks.
CB: You are very strong! How old are you, Sir?
BR: I am already 59 years old. You are using a bike. Why are you still awake this time of the night?
CB: I have a small business which I own and operate. I am on my way home when I saw you running towards the Poblacion and I followed you and your support vehicle.
BR: You look very athletic. Do you run, too?
CB: I started running few months ago because a friend of mine invited me to run in one of the road races in Manila. I joined a 5K run and then a 10K run and lately, I just finished a half-marathon run in RunRio’s UNILAB Run. Now, we have a running club here among friends.
BR: That’s good! Congratulations on your first half-marathon finish!
CB: Our running club only join races in Manila when it is a Run Rio’s Event!
BR: Of course, you have to be selective in your races because it is very expensive on your part to be travelling from Cabangan, Zambales to Manila and back. Why do you like and prefer to run in Run Rio’s Events?
CB: Our group likes RunRio Events because there are more people/participants running the race. We find enjoyment if we see a lot of different people running along side with us. The more people to see, the better for us! However, I am a competitive cyclist and it is my favorite sports!
BR: So, you are a cyclist! Do you participate in cycling events, too? How often?
CB: We have cycling group/team here and we usually compete in Subic Cycling Events and to other provincial cycling events to include Duathlons!
BR: So you are very athletic and competitive also. That’s good! C’mon let’s eat!
The conversation went on as I consumed the hot noodles and boiled bananas prepared for me. I found out from CB, who is in his late 30s, that Cabangan Poblacion is the turn-around point for the cycling stage in the yearly White Rock 70.3 Triathlon. So, basically the route where I was running is the route of the White Rock 70.3 Triathlon. Very interesting!
After I finished with my “pit stop”, I resumed my run towards the next town—Botolan. CB was still looking at me as I left the Poblacion’s Public Park!
I could only see at least 10-15 meters ahead of me brought about by the light of my support vehicle and the rest on my sides was totally dark. From time to time , I had to check on my watch for my HR and I was surprised that I was having an average of 132 bpm during the run. I was running comfortably making sure to take a sip of water from my handheld Nathan “Sprint” bottle (bought from ARC Los Angeles). And everything was on “cruise control”. I would stop as I asked for my hydration bottle to be filled up with water. There are times also that I had to take some GU Gels every other hour. I was running an average of 6-7 kilometers per hour on this part of the route as I didn’t know if I was running uphill or downhill except when approaching on bridges. All the bridges on this part of the route have uphill approaches but as soon as you reach the end of the bridge, everything is downhill.
The distance and the road from Cabangan to Botolan took me sometime to cover it. It could be a half-marathon distance with lots of uphill and downhill on the last 6 kilometers from the town’s Poblacion. The best part of this route was that I could hear the sound of the strong waves coming from the beach on my left side and it became good “music” to my ears for almost 8-10 kilometers! The worse part is that on the last 3 kilometers from the Poblacion of Botolan, there is a road construction and widening of the road being done and the road was full of mud and loose soil. The feeling was that as if I was running on a trail for about 2 kilometers. I thought it was better to be running on muddy and damp ground rather than running on a dusty road. It was good also that there were only one or two vehicles that passed me along this part of the route.
Finally, I reached the Poblacion of Botolan and it was about 3:30 AM of September 22 and I was on the road for the past 17 hours! I did a slow run once I passed the Municipal Hall and started to walk and be ready for a short “pit stop”. After eating boiled banana and eggs, I felt sleepy and it started to rain. I decided to get inside the vehicle and look for a decent place where I could change to dry clothes and sleep for awhile. From this point, I still have 6 kilometers to go before reaching Iba, Zambales!
The rain was so hard that I could hardly see the road while I was inside the vehicle. Moreso, it was harder to look for the names of the establishments on the sides of the road. It took us sometime to find a place as most of the resorts did not have a personnel to man their registration offices at 4:00 AM. Finally, we checked in to a new motel which has the amenities of a hotel. I guess, the name of the establishment is “Circles Inn” which is located in between Botolan and Iba, Zambales! I went immediately to bed once I changed to a drier clothes and my support crew just did that. We were all tired after 18+ hours on the road
The plan was to sleep for about 4 hours, take a bath, change to a new attire, have a decent meal, and we were ready to continue the journey for our second day! So far, everything went well and I was able to cover a distance of 73 kilometers!
Lessons learned:
1. I could run and walk as far as 73 kilometers in 18+ hours to include “pit stops”.
2. I could run on the run & bike legs of the White Rock 70.3 Triathlon Event and I am now familiar with it. It does not mean that I will try also to swim its swimming course at the Subic Bay in the future. But, who knows?
3. A simple conversation from the local residents creates a fast news to everybody along the road.
4. It is nice to engage to people along the road and find out more about the place and the people.
5. Local folks would like to run in Metro Manila (and Run Rio’s Event) for the fun of being part of a bigger crowd & running community.
6. All night running is very relaxing and silent. The cooler temperature made my Average HR to be in the lower 130’s and it kept me going without any muscle cramps or soreness on my legs.
7. And last, Surefire Flashlights are really good for barking/attacking dogs along the road!
To be continued.
2012 BDM Updates: Lists Of Invited Runners
The lists of invited runners are now posted in this blog. Please click the appropriate BDM Race PAGE above to view the list.
Invited runners are encouraged to follow the instructions stated in the Letter of Invitation. There will be no extension of deadline for the payment of Registration Fee. (Remember that you paid your Registration Fees immediately when you applied to join in one or in every road race like, the Standard Chartered Singapore/Hongkong/Kuala Lumpur Marathons; New York City Marathon; San Francisco Marathon; Portland Marathon; Big Sur Marathon; Boston Marathon; Los Angeles Marathon; or California International Marathon—I am registered in this race and I paid last June and this race will be held yet on the 1st Sunday of December!).
Guys, your BDM Race had always been an International Road Race!
On the rules and regulations, we are updating some of them. Updates on this matter will be published on this blog and/or at the BDM site at www.bataan102.blogspot.com.
Good luck and train hard!
Award-Winning Ultra Run
1st Mayon 360-degree 50-Mile Ultra Marathon Run had been adjudged and awarded as the 2011 Best Sports Tourism Event (Provincial Level Category) by the Association of Tourist Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) during the newly concluded Convention among Tourism Officers and Agencies in Capiz City (Roxas) last October 3-6, 2011.
This kind of running event in the “grassroots” level should be a good example to be emulated by the local government. It was a very successful event due to the full support given by the leadership of the province through the Office of the Governor of Albay. Governor Joey Salceda was totally supportive of the event in terms of cash prizes and for the logistics needed to implement the event. The JCI of Legazpi was instrumental also in creating and organizing this event but what matters most was the cooperation and “volunteerism” by the members of the Provincial League of Barangays and other government entities in the province.
I don’t need to mention particular names of those who were involved in the planning and implimentation of the event in this post as I had mentioned them already in my Race Director’s Report after the event.
Congratulations to everybody! See you next year on the 2nd edition of the race!
Bald Runner
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